Be You by Kulsoom Kazim

Title: Be You: A Journey to Self Transformation
Author: Kulsoom Kazim
Genre: Non-fiction, Self-help
Publisher: Iron Heart Publishing
Released: 2018
Format: Paperback
Pages: 144
Source: I received a soft copy from the author in exchange for an honest and unbiased review.
Rating: 4/5
Related Links: Amazon | Publisher (e-book) | GoodReads

To help you climb the Mountain of Life. To help you reach for the sky. This book will take you by the hand and the heart along a marvelous journey to attain your best self. outlines the importance of Allah, vision, relationships, self-care, and confidence. It is about the common struggles of women all over the world, and stories of inspirational people to help motivate and bring out the inner you. It has exercises and reflective questions, so you can begin embarking on the journey of ‘being you’ today.

All my life, I had thought that relationships were meant to be forever, but forever is fictitious because forever isn’t for anyone.
– Be You: A Journey to Self Transformation, Kulsoom Kazim

Be You is a beautiful book of the author’s experiences shared with the lens of a sister/coach reaching out to her sisters-in-Islam to become better versions of themselves. The book deals with five important aspects of life through which the author lends a guiding hand to the reader to focus on: Allah, Vision, Relationships, Self Care, and Confidence.

  1. In the first chapter, the author talks about how her one choice–of choosing Allah–has helped her in all walks of life, by placing Him first, thereby building her conviction in Allah.
  2. In the second chapter, the author talks about her determination in life, the importance of having a vision in one’s life, renewing and re-purposing one’s vision, and the vision of a Muslim.
  3. In the chapter on Relationships, she shares how her divorce shaped her, and reflects on the meaning of attachments, and building meaningful relationships.
  4. The chapter on Self Care shows the importance of self care and how to cultivate it. The author also explains on what happens to a woman when they put themselves last.
  5. In the last chapter on Confidence, the author narrates how her lack of confidence led her to be where she is now, of how embracing herself helped her to be herself.

After each chapter, the author provides questions for the reader to journal or reflect on which will hopefully help the reader to be authentic with oneself. The book ends with a list of Glossary words to help those who are unaware of Arabic and some Urdu terms.

While reading Be You I found myself nodding my head in many places. Having grown and experienced insights similar to the author’s, I could totally relate to her thoughts and opinions. Be You is for you if you want to reflect over your life, as whoever you are, and insha Allah the author will coach you through Be You to Be You.

Have you read Be You by Kulsoom Kazim? Let me know what your thoughts are in the comments.

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